canadiandude:
Hey I'm new to this forum and think its great what your doing for the so many worried people out there. But I have a situation of my own.

A couple months ago or so i had an exposure to blood with someone who suspects he is hiv positive. We were smoking out of a marijuana pipe and my lips were very chapped and split on the inside pretty badly and open. While after we were done i had noticed that his lip was bleeding.

Now heres where the panic sets in. 4 days later i comedown with a very faint rash that comes and goes. I wasnt to worried and i would normaly rather my skin with a vitamin e cream to make it feel better. While about a bit longer then a week later id start getting a little itchy bump hear and there and before you know it there was quite the noticable rash made up of them. Now ive seen pictures of the acute hiv rash and mine looked alot like it.

Since then ive had quite a few symptoms such as eye floaters, tingling of the hands and feet every now and then, weight loss etc. So i'm pretty freaked out. Me and my girlfreind have been non active in the sex area. But my question isssss, is it true that you can get such a similiar rash, one that looks so much like an ars rash but be something else?? Because i took an antibody test at 7 weeks and about 14-15 weeks and both are negative.

My girlferind now wants to indulge in sexual activity but theres a part of me still worried that im a late seroconverter... I know the tests are encouraging but i cant get past the rash. I mean it looks just like the ars rash.

What are your thoughts on this tricky situation??

canadiandude:
oops quite a few spelling errors there. I meant to say "Lather" and "Looked" sorry for the confusiom :-[

Sae:
CD,HIV is not transmitted in the way you describe and (because we know you'll ask) even with your circumstances of chapped/bleeding lip.

Saliva inhibits HIV is one reason, but I assure you there are other reasons why the scenario is not a vector for HIV transmission.

If that doesn't make you feel better, your tests at post 12 weeks in Canada are conclusive.

You couldn't get HIV from what you did, plus you were tested and don't have it. Good for you on getting an HIV test. Hopefully you are your girlfriend are tested for STD's (all of them), securely monogamous OR just use condoms for vaginal/anal sex and you will remain HIV negative.

You need to be using condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, every time, no exceptions until such time as you are in a securely monogamous relationship where you have both tested for ALL STIs together. To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with a sexually transmitted infection.

Unless your girlfriend has also been tested, you need to use condoms. You can't tell by looking at someone, or go by what you think you know about them, or what they might ASSUME the the state of their sexual health to be. The only way to know is through testing.

You know your own status and that's it. You weren't at risk in the pipe smoking incident and you have the conclusive negative test result to prove that.

Use condoms for intercourse and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple. Read through the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use those condoms with confidence. And while you're here, please also read through the Welcome Thread and follow the links for further information.

One more thing... you said your friend suspects he is hiv positive. Please encourage him to get tested. The sooner hiv infection is caught, the better the long-term outcome will be. Hiv is nothing to guess about - it's a serious, life-threatening illness. Get him to test. He might well be worrying over nothing anyway.